The Crash of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 Juneau, Alaska September 4, 1971

Summary

The crash of the Alaska Airlines jet into Mount Fairweather on September 4, 1971 has never been explained definitively. A National Transportation Safety Board report hinted that the flight crew acted properly with the incorrect information they were given. However the same NTSB report stated that the cockpit might have acted more responsibly to prevent a crash. The landing at Juneau Municipal Airport was inhibited by steep mountains and inclement weather, near midnight.

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The Crash of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727

Juneau, Alaska

September 4, 1971

Published by Robert Grey Reynolds Jr. at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 by Robert Grey Reynolds Jr.

On Saturday, September 4, 1971 an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 jet, Flight 1866, headed to Juneau, Alaska, crashed at midnight. The 111 people (104 passengers and a crew of 7) on board were killed. The crash was the worst single aircraft disaster in United States history at the time. Originating in Anchorage, the Juneau stop was the final one before the last flight to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Captain Richard Adams was flying to Juneau but also made stops in Cordova, Yakutat, Sitka and Juneau. A sixteen year veteran with Alaska Airlines, the 41-year-old pilot was originally from Redmond, Washington. The plane’s co-pilot was